Power-transmitting mechanism.



No. 891,108. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

- G. W. SMITH. POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM I ION I LED APPL CAT 1 MAY27, 1907 4 SHEETS SHEET 1 a n m. m NM NH R N m 1 I. M a 5 2: ME N D D wNo. 891,108. PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908. G. W. SMITH.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED n z M 1907 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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a 1 U P 1 R1 21 Ti- 4 ;2'2 2'4 T 24 v 1% P 56. 1 l Z0 I I 1 1 1 17 35?35 L \1 16 $0 I W; a I 5i No. 891,108. PATENTED JUNE 16, T908. I G. W.SMITH.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

P I TI N IL D A FL GA 0 I E MAYZ7,1907 4SHBETS SEBET 3 o o I I. 4 O O mn 7 O l l I I t 44' u 40 as E 39 52 W 53 I O hg 4' 6-?) ll u No.891,108. 7 PATENTED JUNE 16, 1908.

' G. W. SMITH.

POWER TRANSMITTING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 27, 1907.

4 SHEETSSHEBT 4.

I O 0 ma 0 6 c5 1 Ti M fiwrg 30 view through 35 responding parts in' allthe 4 shaft 5.

or motor byany suitable means, as for in- GEORGE WlLLIAM SMITH, OFHENRY, MISSOURI.

POWER-TRAN SMITTIN G MECHANISM.

g No. 891,168.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it known that LLGEORGE WILLIAM MITH, acitizen of the United States, residing at Henry, in the count of Ray andState of Missouri, have invente a new and useful Power-TransmittingMechanism, of which the following is a s ecification. This invention reates to means for transmitting power from a driving member to a drivenmember, and while particularly intended for transmitting motion from themotor of an automobile to the wheels thereof,

it is not necessarily limited to this use.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an'exceedinglysi'mple and effective mechanism of a novel nature, whereby variable'andreverse speeds can be obtained Without changing the direction or speedof the motor.

20. Another and im ortant object is to providemechanism, W 'ch willprevent elements that operate at different rates of speed being throwninto action, at the same time thus avoiding danger of breaking the partsfrom 25 this cause.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a plan view 0 one embodimentof the inventlon. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view therethrough.Fig. 3 is a sectional a modifie from of construction. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal sectional view Ehroughanother embodiment ofthe inven- 1011.Similar reference numerals designate cordrawmgs.

In the embodiment illustrated in the first two figures, a suitablesupporting frame 4 is employed, on which is journaled a driving Theshaft is connected to an engine stance, a sprocket chain,, that operates-around a s rocket wheel 6 fixed to one end of the sha This gearingconosing gears 8. The collars ave sprocket Wheels 12,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 27, 1907. SerialNo. 376,008.

figures of the,

p A driven sleeve 7 is loosely 45 v ournaled on the shaft, and mountedthereon upon the fixed collar 10 are .in

Patented June 16, 1908.

which are preferably connected by s rocket chains 13 to sprocket wheels14 fixe to the wheel shafts 15. v

The shaft 5 and sleeve 7 constitute res ectively driving and .drivenmembers.

ixed to one end of the driven member or sleeve 7 is a wheel element 16havinga friction clutchface 17 onits outerside and external and internalgear faces 18 and 19 on its inner side. In'the present embodiment theseare friction faces. A clutch element 20 is slidably mounted on the shaft5, and is feathered thereto, as shown at 21. This clutch element ismovable into and out of coaction with the clutch element or face 17,this movement being effected by a lever 22 fulcrumed at one end, asshown at 23, and havin "a suitable yoke connection 24 with the hub ofthe element 20. A swinging carrier frame 25 is pivoted on the su portingframe 4, and has angularly dispose arms carrying boxes 26. In theseboxes, a countershaft 27 is journaledf The shaft at one end is providedwith a gear 28 that is in mesh with another gear 29 fixed to the drivingshaft 5. The

opposite end of the countershaft is located between the internal andexternal gear face 19 and 18, and carries a pinion 30 movable into andout of coaction with either of said faces on the swinging movement ofthe shaft. The, teeth of the gear 28 are preferably curved, as shown topermit the swinging movement of the gear, while maintaining propercoaction with the teeth of the gear 29.

The frame 25 has a forwardly extending ear 31 that is pivoted to alocking lever 32 fulcrumed contiguous to one end, as shown at 33. A link43, connected to the other end of the lever 32, constitutes actuatingmeans therefor. The, fulcrumed end of the lever 32 is preferably beveledoif or pointed, as

shown at 35, and a notch or seat 36, formed in the lever 32, .receivessaidpointed end when the clutch element 20 is in coaction with l theclutch element 17. When the pointed end 25 is in'its seat 36, the pinion30 is out of coaction with both the internal and external gear faces 18and 19.

The operation of this structure is substantially as follows: If power isapplied to the sprocket wheel, 6, from a motor or engine and if theclutch element 20 is out of coaction with the clutch element 17 and thepinion 30 is out of engagement with both faces 18 and 19, the drivingshaft 5 will rotate freely without operating the sleeve 7. If now thelever 5 22 is swung to move the clutch element 22 into coaction with theclutch element 17, it will be evident that the sleeve 7 will be clutcheddirectly to the shaft and the two parts will rotate together. Thusmotion 10 will be transmitted to the sprocket wheels 12 through themedium of the differential gearing, When the parts are in thiscondition, as already shown, the countershaft willbe locked againstswinging movement with the inion 30 out of mesh with both of the gearaces. When, however, the lever 23 is thrown outwardly, and the clutchelement is out-of mesh with the clutch element 17, the frame 25 can beswung so as to throw the pinion into engagement with either the externalor the internal gear faces or elements 18-19. In either case, power willthen be transmitted from the driving shaft 5 through the caring 2829,the countershaft 27 and t e pinion 30 to the sleeve 7 so that saidsleeve can be rotated in opposite directions atdifferent rates of speed.With this structure therefore two speeds in one direction can besecured, and a reverse movement at a slow rate of speed. A slightldifferent embodiment of the invention is i lustrated inFig. 3. In thisform, the driving shaft is designated 37 and has a driven sleeve 38loosely journaled thereon. The wheel 39 has an outer clutch element 40and external and internal gear elements or faces 41'and 42 on its innerside. In the resent embodiment, these elements are rovided with teeth,and thus it will be evident 40 that either friction or toothed gearingmay be employed. Differential gearing 43 of the character alreadydescribed, is mounted on the sleeve 38. A sliding clutch element 44 isfeathered upon the driving shaft 37, and is movable into and out ofcoaction with the element 40, its movement being controlled by a lever45'.' A swinging carrier frame 46 has journaled thereon a countershaft47, and a pinion 48, fixed to one'end of the countershaft, is movableinto coaction with either of I thegear elements 41 and 42. This pinioncan also be placed in an intermediate position where it is out of meshwith both of said elements. The countershaft 47 has fixed thereto a gearwheel 49 that is in mesh with another gear wheel 50 loosely journaled onthe driving shaft 37. The gear wheel 50 carries a female clutch element51 with which 006 erates a male clutch element v52 feathere upon theshaft 37 and operated by a lever 53. A link 54- "connects the lever 53with the lever 45, and by this means, when one of the clutches is thrownout of coaction, the other is thrown into operation. The

65 v swinging carrier frame 46 is operated by any frames 73.

suitable means connected to said frame by a link 55, and saidcarrierframe has aforwardly extending arm. 56 provided with asubstantially Y-shaped slot, one portion of the slot being designated57, the arms thereof being designated 58. The lever 45 is provided witha bracket 59 that carries a stud 60, which operates in the slot. In thisembodiment of the invention, when the clutch element 44 is in coactionwith the clutch element 40 and the driven sleeve 38 is thus fixeddirectly to the driving shaft 37, the clutch element 52 will be out ofcoaction with the clutch element 51. It will also be observed that thestud 60 will be in the portion '57 of the Y-shaped slot of the carrierframe. Consequently said frame will be locked in a position that willmaintain the pinion 48 out of mesh with both the gear elements 41 and42. When the lever 45 is swung to carry the clutch element 44 out ofcoaction with the clutch element 40, thestud (SO-will reach a osition atthe juncture of the portions 57 and 58 of the slot in the carrier framebefore the clutch. elemnt 52 moves into coaction with the clutch element51. Therefore the carrier frame can be swung freely in either directionso as to carry the pinion 48 into mesh with either the external orinternal gear elements 4142. When in mesh with either, the lever 45 isgiven a further movement, and the stud 60 will then ride into one of thearms 58 of the slot. This further movement effects a movement of theclutch element 52 into coaction with the clutch element 51, and thecountershaft will thus be geared to the driving shaft, so that thepinion will be operated, and the driven sleeve rotated.

In Fig. 4 is illustrated a modification of the structure disclosed inFigs. 1 and 2. In this embodiment, the driving shaft 61 is employed,as'before, and on it is journaled a driven sleeve 62 having differentialgearing 63. A rotary wheel element 64 is keyed or otherwise secured tothe sleeve 62, and hasa clutch member 65 on its outer side and internaland external gear elements 66 and 67 on its inner side. Another clutchmember 68, slidable upon the shaft 61, cooperates.

with the member 65, and is operated by a lever-69. A gear wheel 70 isfixed to the shaft 61, and meshing therewith are gear wheels 71 mountedon shafts 72 that are journaled in pivotally mounted carrier Theseshafts have friction wheels 74 movable into coaction with either theinternal or external gear elements 66 and 67.- In order to effect theirsimultaneous movement in opposite directions and consequently intocoaction with the same gear elements, a lever 75 is employed that isfulcrumed between its ends, as shown at 76. Links 77 are pivoted to thelever 75 on opposite sides of its fulcrum 76, and are respectivelyconnected to the frames 73. An operating dethe shaft and vice 78 is,connected to the lever. It will be observed that the levers 69 and 75have the interlocking engagement 79 as in the first described embodimentof the invention. In this structure, it will be observed that the sleeve62 can be clutched directly to the shaft 61 by pro erly operating theclutch member 68. When so clutched, the gear wheels 7 4 are locked outof engagement with both the internal and external gear elements 66 and67'. When,- however, the lever 69 is thrown outwardly to disengage theclutch member 68 from the clutch member 65, then the lever 75 is free tobe operated, and if moved in one direction or the other, the wheels 7 4will be moved either into engagement with the external gear elements 67or the internal gear elements 66. This particular structure isadvantageous in that it provides small transmission mechanism that willbe very compact and at the same time powerful.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent tothose skilled in the art, Without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size, sha e, proportion and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Patent, is r 1. In mechanism of the characterdescribed, the combination with a shaft member, of a sleeve memberrotatably mounted thereon, relatively movable clutch elements carried bythe shaft and sleeve for connecting the same, and differential gearingmounted on one of the members.

2; In mechanism of the character de scribed, the combination with ashaft, of a sleeverotatably mounted on the shaft, relatively movableclutch elements carried by sleeve, and differential gearing mounted onthe sleeve.

3. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with ashaft, of a sleeve rotatably mounted on the shaft, rela tivel" movableclutch elements carried by thes aft and sleeve, collars looselyjournaled on the sleeve. and having opposing gears, and planet gearsfixed to the sleeve and engaging the o )posing gears.

4. n mechanism of the character described, the combinationwith a drivingshaft, of a driven sleeve loosely journaled thereon, a clutch memberfixed to the sleeve, a coacting clutch member slidable on the shaft,collars loosely journaled on the sleeve, a collar fixed to the sleevebetween the loose collars, opposing bevel gears fixed to the loosecollars, and planet gears j ournaled on the fixed collar and meshingwith the beveled gears.

5. In mechanism of the character de and coacting with the clutch face,and a gear connected to said other member and cooperating with the gearface.

6. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with arotatable driving member and a rotatable driven member havingsubstantially coincident axes of rotation, one of said membershavinginternal and external gear elements, a shaft geared to the othermember and disposed substantially parallel to said axes of rotation, anda gear element carried by the shaft and movable into engagement witheither the internal or external gear elements.

7. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a shaftmember, of a sleeve member journaled on the shaft member, acountershaftlocated alongside the members and geared to one member,internal-and external'gear elements carried by the other member, and athird gear element carried by the countershaft and movable intoengagement With either the internal or external gear element.

8. In mechanism of the character. de-

scribed, the combination with a shaft member, of a sleeve member looselyjournaled on the shaft member, diflerential gearing mounted on thesleeve, a swinging countershaft located alongside the members and gearedto the shaft member, external and internal gear elements carried by thesleeve member, a pinion carried by the 'countershaf t and movable intoengagement with either the internal or external gear element, and meansfor swinging the shaft.

9. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with adriving memher and a driven member, of a clutch for directly connectingthe driving and driven members, one of said members having internal andexternal gear elements, a shaft geared to the other member, and a gearelement carried by theshaft and movable into engagement with either theinternal or external gear elements.

10. In mechanism of the character de scribed, the combination with ashaft member, of a sleeve member j ournaled on the shaft member, acountershaft located alongside the members and geared to one member,internal and externa gear elements carried by the other member, a thirdgear element carried by the countershaft and movable into engagementwith either the internal or external gear elements, means for movingsaid tershaft, gearing connecting third gear element, and a clutch fordirectly connecting the shaft and sleeve members.

11. In mechanism of {the character described, the combination with adriving shaft, of a driven sleeve loosely journaled on the drivingshaft, a clutch element fixed to one end of the sleeve, a clutch elementslidable on the shaft and movable into and out of coaction with thefirst mentioned clutch element, a countershaft located alongside thedriving shaft and driven sleeve,.gearin connecting the shafts,.internaland externa gear elements carried by the sleeve, and a pinion carried bythe countershaft and movable into engagement with either the internal orexternal ear.

12. n mechanism of the character described, the combination with drivingand driven members, of a wheel element associated with one of themembers, said wheel element having a,clutch face, and external andinternal gear faces, and means having connections with the other memberand cooperating with the different faces of said wheel element.

13. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with ashaft member of a sleeve'member loosely journaled on the shaft member, awheel element carried by one member, said wheel element having a clutchface and internal and external gear faces, a clutch member carried bythe other element and coacting with the clutch face, and a ear havinggear connections with the said ot er member and movable into engagementwith either ear face.

14. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with ashaft, of a sleeve loosely journaled on the shaft, a wheel element fixedto the sleeve andhaving a clutch face on its outer side, said wheelelement having-external and internal gear faces on its inner side, aclutch element slidably mounted on the shaft and movable into and out ofcoaction with the clutch face, a counthe shaft and countershaft, a mionfixed to the counter shaft and mova le into and out of coaction witheither the internal or external gear face, and means for moving thecountershaft to carry said pinion into coaction with either gear face.

15. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with adriving member and a driven member, of a clutch for directly connectingthe driving and driven members, one of said members having internal andexternal gear elements, a shaft geared to the other member, a gearelement carried by the shaft andmovable into engagement with either theinternal or external gear element, and means for locking said gearelement out of coaction with both the end of the sleeve and having anouter internal and external gear elementswheffi the clutch is inoperative condition. v

16. In mechanism of the character described, the combination withrelatively rotatable members, of a clutch for connecting the members,said clutch comprising elements relatively movable into and out ofcoaction, detachably connecting the members when the clutch elements areout of coaction, means for moving the gear elements into associatedrelation, and means that engages the operating means for locking thegear elements in detached relation when the clutch elements areassociated.

17. In mechanism of the character described, the combination withrelatively rotatable members, of a clutch for directly connecting themembers, said clutch including elements movable into and out ofcoaction, a swinging countershaft geared to one of the members andhaving a detachable engagement with the other member, means for swingingthe shaft, and means for holding the shaft against swinging movementwhen the clutch elements are in coacting relation.

18. In mechanism of the character described, the combination withrelatively rotatable members, of a clutch for directly connecting themembers, said clutch comprising elements movable into and out ofcoaction, a swinging countershaft geared to one of the members andhaving a detachable engagement with the other member, a swinging carrierframe for the tially Y-shaped slot, and a lever for operating theclutch, said lever having a stud operating in the slot.

19. In ,mechanism of the character described, the combination with adriving shaft, of a sleeve loosely journaled thereon, a clutchconnection between the shaft and sleeve comprising elements movable intoand out of coaction, a countershaft, gears connecting the shaft andcountershaft, one of said gears being loose upon the former, a clutchfor connecting the shaft and loose gear, said clutch includingrelatively movable elements, and means for throwing one clutch into andthe other out of coaction.

20. In mechanism of the character described, the combination with a,driving shaft, of a driving sleeve loosel journaled on the drivingshaft, diiferentia gearing mounted on the sleeve, a wheel element fixedto one clutch face, said wheel element having external and internalgears 'on its inner side, a clutch element slidably mounted on the shaftand movable into coaction with the clutch face of the wheel element, aswingbigg countershaft having a pinion movable in and out of coactionwith either the internal or external gear, a swinging carrier frame forsaid counassociated gear elements shaft having a substan-' tershafthaving a substantially Y-shaped ried by one of the levers andoperatingin the 10 slot, gears connecting the shaft and ooun-ter-Y-shaped slot.

shaft, the gear that is on the shaft being In testimony, that Iclaim'theforegoing as loose thereu on, a clutch comprising relamy own, I havehereto affixed my signature tively movable. elements, one of which is inthe presence of two Witnesses.

slidably mounted on the shaft, the other be- GEORGE WILLIAM SMITH. ingcarried by the loose gear, levers con- Witnesses: nected to the slidablegear elements, a con- WILLIAM A. SIsK,

nection between the levers, and a stud car- 5' JOHN VoeT.

